Managing risks in supply networks is a complex task; more so in those supply networks where the core competence lies in dealing with natural disasters, complex emergencies, and large‐scale attacks—namely those of humanitarian, and military organizations where the price of failure can be counted in terms of the loss of life rather than, simply, reduced profits. This conceptual article examines the capabilities of these supply networks to manage such disruptions, based on their resource configuration in a dormant preparation state. The article concludes by presenting how different types of supply networks can manage large‐scale disruptions.

Trust is essential to supply chain teams as it has a positive impact on team performance. Longterm relationships in supply chains have also emphasised trust as their key element. Yet traditional models of trust have a limited application in hastily formed networks that are formed on the spot without a long-term component. An example of such hastily formed networks is the humanitarian aid supply network, which consists of a number of individual logisticians from a variety of organisations, coming together to bring relief to a disasterstricken area. The aim of this paper is, thus, to further the understanding of swift trust in hastily formed networks as a means of improving relief operations in rapid onset disasters. A model of swift trust is presented, and each of its conditions discussed to unearth potential facilitators of swift trust.

Logistic skills are of importance for employment and career development, and prior research has highlighted differences in skill requirements for different logistics functions as well as for different groups of logisticians. However, the continuing incidence of natural disasters and complex emergencies and their associated challenges including the requirement to build relationships with diverse stakeholders, has increased the demand for humanitarian logisticians—but there is, as yet, little understanding of which skills are important in this context. This article develops a conceptual framework for skills in the field of humanitarian logistics, and evaluates the framework through a content analysis of job advertisements with a special focus on the 2010 Haiti earthquake. This analysis concludes that humanitarian logisticians need a broad spectrum of functional skills (such as procurement, and warehouse and transport management) that must often be held in some depth. In addition, however, humanitarian logisticians need “contextual” skills that reflect their particular field of employment (such as security management and a comprehensive knowledge of donor regulations). It is suggested that such contextual skills are likely to feature in other areas of logistic employment, and that further research to identify these would lead to improvements in training and education programs.